ITF expresses condolences over Antwerp docker deaths

ITF expresses condolences over Antwerp docker deaths

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has expressed its condolences to the families and colleagues of three experienced dockworkers who died on Saturday in Antwerp, Belgium, after entering a ship’s hold to unload coal.

ITF president and chair of its dockers’ section, Paddy Crumlin, said: “Our thoughts are with the families, their colleagues and friends of these three men. This must be a desperately sad time for them.

“We can never relax on port safety and accident prevention. Antwerp is a port where health and safety is taken very seriously, and, like the three men’s trade unions, we are confident that a full investigation will take place into what happened and how any resulting lessons can be implemented.”

He concluded: “Dock work is dangerous work and everyone involved must always do everything possible to minimise the risks. This is a timely reminder of the importance of Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April(28april.org), whose message is ‘Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living’.”

ENDS

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